Improvement in curling hat-brims



UNITED iSTATES PATENT OFFICE. g

ABRAHAM FRESHFIELD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND HENRY ZOX, OF SAME PLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT lN CURLING HAT-BRIMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 160,091, dated February 23, 1875; application iled February 5, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM FREsH- FIELD, 0f New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Curling Hat-Brims, of which the following is a speciiication:

Figure l is a side view of a hat-brim, showing my improved curl uncovered for display. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on a larger scale of the brim and curl applied thereto.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

The object of this invention is to produce for use on hats a curl which will render the brim snfiiciently sti' to dispense with the stiffened gossamer heretofore used, and which will still leave the brim light and exible. On high hats particularly the stiff brim is usually formed by gossamer treated with shellac or other substance to make it very stift', and having its edge turned up to form the curl. A hat thus made will only it the particular shape of head for which it is made, and will not readily adapt itself to slight variations in the form of head. rlhis is the chief reason why high hats have to be made to order, and cannot be sold by'size7 like soft hats or straw hats, that are made with soft brims. On the other hand, soft hats having soft brims cannot be readily grasped by the wearer in taking them oft and putting them on, because the brims are so very flexible as to bend in the hand when taken hold of.

My invention consists in applying to the border or edge of the brim a curved lining of rattan or equivalent material, wider in the middle of each side of the hat, and tapering toward the middle of front and back, said rattan constituting a curl-which will give shape to the edge of the brim, and also constitnte a stift'ener sufficiently reliable to retain the brim in shape and facilitate the handling of the hat, and to allow at the same time quite a soft brim to be used even on a high stiff hat, thus making the hat much lighter than it otherwise could be made.

In the accompanying drawing, the letter A represents the brim of a suitable hat, said brim being made of one or two thicknesses of suitable fabric, such as felt, silk, or other material. B is my improved curl applied to the edge of the brim. This curl is cut or formed of rattan, or of other material-such as metal or woodin such a way that it will be higher at the middle of each side of the hat, as indicated at ain Fig. l, than at the front and back of the hat, as at b, thus giving the tapering form usually required in the curl of the hat. The tapering curl thus made may be composed of one continuous piece ot' the rattan or other material joined at the ends, or it may be composed of a series of pieces properly joined into a continuous lining. It is perforated, as indicated in the drawing, to allow it to be readily stitched to the brim, and is cut in such a way that the higher middle part of each side will incline inwardly, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, this being also a position and form most desirable to produce.

1t will be readily understood that when a curl made as described is attached to even a soft or inoderately-stitt'ened hat-brim, it will .serve to sustain the brim in shape, and at the same time, also, to impart the desired outline to the edge of the same, and to constitute the means for grasping the hat without bending the brim out of shape. A wire, d, which, however, I do not claim to have invented, may be placed beneath or alongside of the curl B, to shape the brim verticallythat is to say, to carry its ends, in front and back, farther down than the sides; but this wire may also be dispensed with. The fabric constituting the hat-brim is, of course, drawn over and around the curl B, to conceal the same from view.

I claim as my invention- The curl B for a hat-brim, said curl being made of rattan or equivalent material, thinner toward the front and back of the brim, and higher at the sides, and perforated to admit fthe thread whereby it is fastened to the brim, substantially as herein shown and described.

ABRAHAM FRFSHFIELD.

Witnesses:

A. V. BRIEsEN, E. C. WEBB. 

